Mohamed Bouazizi

Mohamed Bouazizi, in full Tarek al-Tayeb Mohamed Bouazizi, (born March 29, 1984, Sidi Bouzid, Tun.—died Jan. 4, 2011, Ben Arous, Tun.), Tunisian street vendor whose self-immolation after being harassed by municipal officials catalyzed the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia and helped inspire a wider pro-democracy protest movement in the Middle East and North Africa.

Bouazizi’s early life in Sidi Salah, a small village near the central Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid, was defined by economic struggle. Bouazizi’s father died when he was three, leaving the family with little income. Bouazizi became an important source of financial support for his mother and siblings, taking odd jobs from age 10 and selling fruit and vegetables from a cart as a teenager. After leaving high school without graduating, he searched unsuccessfully for a better job and grew increasingly frustrated with his work as a vendor, which generated only meagre income while exposing him to harassment from police officers and market inspectors, who often demanded bribes.

On Dec. 17, 2010, market inspectors confiscated some of Bouazizi’s wares, claiming that he lacked the necessary permit. Bouazizi’s relatives and one witness alleged that during the confrontation he was publicly humiliated by a female police officer who slapped him. Enraged, Bouazizi went to the local governor’s office to complain but was denied a hearing with the governor. Later in the day he set fire to himself outside the governor’s office, sustaining severe injuries.

Bouazizi’s treatment by officials quickly became a focal point for public anger, and his struggles with underemployment and corruption came to be seen as emblematic of the economic and societal difficulties facing ordinary Tunisians, especially young people. Erroneous reports that Bouazizi had been a university graduate distraught over his inability to find work reflected Tunisians’ anger at soaring rates of unemployment among recent university graduates.

By the time Bouazizi died of his injuries on Jan. 4, 2011, protests had spread throughout Tunisia, and opposition groups had begun to demand the removal of the corrupt and authoritarian regime of Pres. Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, in power since 1987. The regime’s attempts to use force to suppress the protests drew international criticism, and the regime failed to placate the opposition with its offers of concessions. On January 14 Ben Ali was forced to resign and leave Tunisia as demonstrators marched in Tunis, many of them carrying signs and banners with Bouazizi’s image.

Following the resignation of Ben Ali, Bouazizi was celebrated as a hero of the Tunisian pro-democracy movement. In February 2011 the main square in Tunis was renamed after Bouazizi.